Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 $150 at memoryexpress right now
Phenom 2 X4 955 $120
Ripjaws 8GB mem kit $51 go DDR3 1600 so you can upgrade processor later.
Radeon 6850 for about $150 with Rebate right now or 6870 for $170 with rebate...If you like Nvidia better best bet is probably a 460 at around $150

Puts you a touch over the $500 with tax and shipping.

I realize buldozer is relatively bad, but this system should give you a decent upgrade path in that direction, SLI and Crossfire capable and will run everything you throw at it now. You can't get very far into SandyBridge for $500

IMO you made a good call. Its overbudget, but now you won't feel the need (maybe) to upgrade the CPU/RAM as soon. They should last you a while. Don't upgrade the CPU/ram at the expense of the video card though. That is whats going to give you the eye candy...actually you are at a very low resolution, so a gtx 460 1gb/768mb (preferably not an SE model) would likely serve you very well if you can find a good price on one (they seem to be slowly disappearing and going up in price).

Thanks for all the input! I figured I might as well spend the money on a processor that will give me the results I need for awhile, rather than settling for something cheaper that will become outdated.